<p>Hello,
I am going to be taking out daughter to visit UW Madison next week. We are planning on touring the Rec facilities, Group Visits & Walking Tour, and a 1 hour visit to the College of Life Sciences. </p>
<p>Is there any other things that we should take a look at while there? We are only one hour away, and at this point are mostly trying to get a feel for campus size and flavor.</p>
<p>We are planning on also visiting UW Lacrosse (she like Lacrosse as a city), and maybe Lawrence in Appleton (1500 students). I think that would give her a pretty good flavor of the range of campus sizes.</p>
<p>Also, which would be the "quietest" dorms if we wanted to drive through that area. She is not into the traditional party scence.</p>
<p>You have to take a walk down State Street. It's under some construction now, but you can still get a feel for what a fun street it is. Great stores and restaurants!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Walk the lake shore path</p></li>
<li><p>The terrace at Memorial Union</p></li>
<li><p>Walk down state street, and then around Capitol Square. Someone previously said that there is a lot of construction.. the west end of State Street was pretty torn up when I was there last week, but it should be better now.</p></li>
<li><p>They have concerts on Wednesdays at 7 PM @ Capitol Square. I don't know if they do this into August though.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Have a good visit. It's a pretty awesome place.</p>
<p>All of the above are good ideas. I have heard the walking tour makes some people feel the campus is larger than it will be for actually going there as you don't usually try to cover the whole campus at once in everyday life- keep this in mind. Most students end up utilizing the area containing their major, eg the ag/engineering or L&S parts of campus. To do all of the above, the official and other tours, it would be best to spend 2 days to do all of the walking. You might try to drive around campus and downtown then park near the Picnic Point entrance to see that area, park in the City of Madison Lake St ramp to see State St, the Memorial Union, SE end of campus (or whichever parking lot UW tells you is good to use for visiting campus).</p>
<p>Before you visit do a virtual bird's eye tour through Google Earth, the resolution is good enough to capture many details, including seeing the many paths walkers, but not cars, can use. You can also do a Google Street view of Madison.</p>
<p>Just a quick question. Do any of you have an opinion if the part of the campus tour that shows the rec facilities is worth the time on a first visit? I guess I am wondering if to a kid who is not overly interested in sports (other than swimming) if it makes a difference?</p>
<p>If it is in the beginning or middle of the tour you would probably have to see it to keep with your group, if at the end you could decide then. Don't think only athletes use this, consider its use as an indoor winter playground... and kids change- your swimmer may be intrigued by other possibilities once she sees the options. We never did a campus tour, kept seeing campus over the years on our own.</p>
<p>There are Rec facilities on the west end- lakeshore dorm area- also. Therefore if your D likes the ambience of that dorm area she should be aware that SERF isn't the only place to go. The free campus bus idea is great- you can get on and off to see things.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice. Our SERF tour was canceled unfortunately. The walking tour was good. A beautiful day for it! The campus actually seemed smaller than we envisioned - which is good. We spent alot of time just soaking things in.</p>
<p>Out 1 hour "meeting" with L&S department was very good. A great Prof. who took extra time explaining things. (Neither my wife or myself went to college, its all new to us). He did an EXCELLENT job of explaining the benefits of a "liberal arts" education, especially if going on to Grad school.</p>
<p>Many of the suggestions already mentioned are great, but don't forget to tour the off-campus areas. Check out research park to gain an idea of science-related internship opportunities, go to west town and get a feel for the mall/grocery stores. Check out the medical campus and Hilldale (Sentry's is a grocery that shouldn't be missed).</p>
<p>I think Sentry closed. Also, you don't need to check out the far off campus areas as they will be such a small, if any, part of your life. Whole Foods is now on University just west of campus. Some people go to East Towne for a mall instead of West Towne, but they both require a bus ride. Just saw the research park off campus, not worth spending time viewing when you can see that area on Google Earth - it's just a suburban office park looking place. Definitely check out the lakeshore path/Picnic Point for close woods and the Arboratum plus zoo for places within walking distance of the campus. Of course the State St area is vibrant for a taste of student life away from classes with fun shops (despite all the coming and going of businesses it always seems to maintain the same character it did eons ago). Madison is a nice place for families, the most exciting part of town is the campus area.</p>
<p>Sentry didn't close. It's called Sentry Metcalfe's now - beautiful store. They're also working on putting a Whole Foods adjacent to Hilldale Mall now. This is a nice area if you want to get off campus for a change of scenery. Robert Redford built his first Sundance Theater in this mall (you even get to reserve your plush rocking chair cushioned seats!) and there is a great little bistro on the upper floor if you have a special occasion and have the dollars to splurge for it.</p>
<p>Don't worry about seeing off campus areas too much as there is plenty to do on and within an easy walk of campus. Most students do not need to consider what the reat of the city is like as the main action is in the campus area.</p>
<p>Its Metcalfe, and I can assure it didn't close but expanded by at least 50%. One of the Metcalfes is the president of our HOA. Really nice guy. They own two Sentry stores.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any advice for the first campus visit for an admitted student? They have a walking tour and an admitted student session. Is the session worth the 4 1/2 hours? Any advice on how to make the most of the visit would be appreciated.</p>
<p>For those not from snow country January- Feb during winter is a good taste of the coldest weather. Check for the times classes are in session- finals end this week, classes begin Jan 19th with Spring break March 27 to April 4th and are not the best times to experience campus.</p>
<p>I’d just get a campus map and figure out my own tour. They might have a self-guided one already designed and you could adjust it by your interests. You don’t want to do it when it’s windy and 5 degrees out. I’d do the admited students presentation. It’s also a very drivable campus so if it’s cold you can see most of it by car. And then do the hike up Bascom Hill and back to get the feel for it. You won’t feel cold there.</p>